75 Years & Counting

The Appley-Ever-After Story of Family-Run Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill

The morning mist rises slowly through the treelines, creating a low-light glow from the orchard’s canopy. Andrew Blake stands outside of his office, one foot in the cab of his Ford F-350, which is covered in muck from the heavy rainfall earlier that morning. He’s scrolling through the day’s itinerary on his iPhone, preparing to traverse the farm to check on various crops.

But first Blake sends a group text message to his father, Pete, and his Uncle Paul about the day’s schedule. Ten minutes later all three are in their respective “offices.” None of the Blakes has an actual office, instead opting to use their pickup trucks as mobile workstations.

“We have multiple farms and different locations and we’re hands-on operator-owners,” says Andrew Blake, with a chuckle. “You know, it’s the ‘farmer’ in us. We always need to be able to get around and help where it’s needed.”

The Blake family members, though, are much more than your average farmers. And their Blake’s Orchard & Cider Mill is more than just an orchard. The farm started 75 years ago, when Gerald and Elizabeth “Lovey” Blake moved from the Detroit suburbs to Armada in northern Macomb County in 1946. The couple had 13 children and each one worked on the farm. Twins Pete and Paul returned after graduating from Michigan State University and eventually took over the farm from their parents.

Through the years, the Blakes have added more fruit and vegetables to their crop rotation. Cherries, raspberries and strawberries, along with peas, broccoli and herbs are available for U-pick, so the Blake family is constantly surveying each crop’s readiness.

For more than four decades, Pete and Paul ran the farm, the orchard and eventually Blake’s Big Apple Funland, a hands-on experience that features carnival attractions, petting zoos, and the U-pick apple program, where guests pay a fixed rate to visit the farm and pick as much fruit as their basket can hold.

Not long after Andrew Blake joined the family business in 2012, Blakes lost their entire apple crop to the worst freeze the state had experienced since the 1940s, he says. That year Michigan’s apple production fell 89 percent.

With a knack for chemistry and home brewing, especially hard apple cider, Andrew Blake saw the freeze as an opportunity to expand the business. That year he created Blake’s Hard Cider, sourcing apples and other fruits directly from his family farms to formulate a recipe. In less than a year, Blake’s Hard Cider was a success. Over the next few seasons, Andrew Blake developed a proprietary blend of apples to act as the backbone for all of the cider drinks.

“The unique profile is a blend of five apple varieties grown on Blake Farms and a proprietary wine yeast. The apple base used is pure cider and not from concentrate,” says Andrew Blake. By using real apples, as opposed to a concentrate, the hard cider has the purest profile, creating a bright, clean and flavorful line of products, he says. This year, they’re releasing an Apple Pie Hard Cider, with hints of cinnamon and vanilla, as a tribute to the company’s 75th anniversary.

Despite COVID-19, Blakes saw a 60 percent increase in hard cider sales last year, as well as increases in their other operations. The family devised a farm share program at the Armada location last May as an affordable way for families to come get farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. The initial intent was for it to be a one-year program, but it looks like it might become annual.

Also, in recognition of their platinum anniversary, the family created The Blake Community Scholarship Fund, in which Blake’s pledges $50,000 in scholarships over the next decade to help students planning to study agriculture or the skilled trades.

Blake’s recently rolled out a provisions company to supply sweet cider, donuts and a new line of fresh-pressed juices to several area markets and purchased the Cupcake Station chain to transform it into Bakehouse46, a gourmet bakery concept serving breads, doughnuts, muffins, bagels and pies. The flagship store opened in Birmingham in February 2020 and remained open during the pandemic for curbside pickup and catering. With five stores currently in operation, Blake’s aims to have 10 open around metro Detroit by the end of this year.

But a main focus continues to be the hard cider. With hard cider products sold in 21 states and counting, Blake’s is currently the seventh-largest cider mill in the country.

“Our goal is to be number one, and we’re well on our way to get there,” says Andrew Blake. “We want to bring in new products, new apple varieties and new ways to educate and connect with consumers.”

Still, with all the success of the cider, he believes the farm remains the conduit to the entire operation.

“I like to think the farm is a unique piece of our business and it’s at the crux of what we do,” he says. “We’ve created this amazing canvas the last 75 years that we want to keep adding to.”

Learn more about the Blake’s family of businesses—including Funland’s autumn events and Blake’s Skating Rink—at blakefarms.com.